Saturday, April 30, 2011

One of the most important things we have to decide on is where to live once we get to Boston. We heard there are some fantastic apartments in the heart of Boston and have spent hours and hours on the internet looking over the different neighborhoods. Since this is going to be such an incredible adventure, we want to find a place that fits our family perfectly. Wouldn't it be amazing to live above a little restaurant and have Whole Foods on the corner of your street? I can just imagine walking out of my apartment building and trying to decide if I should head towards the museum on my left, or the library to my right.

Apparently there is even this really great neighborhood with a friendly bar where everyone knows your name and is glad to see you. Where is that apartment complex? That's where I wanna live. Does it have a name?

Money.

Its name is money.

It did not take us long to realize that living in downtown Boston would be a fantastic experience...if we were willing to eat beans and rice and spend our entire life savings. Add to that the fact we wouldn't have a washer/dryer in the unit and would likely have to go up and down stairs with Addison's stroller every day.

So we decided to expand our search area and found this really great place called Oak Grove Village. Although its not right in the middle of downtown Boston, it is still just a few T stops away from the action and Josh's commute would only be about 20 minutes. This would be a welcome change for our family since Josh’s current commute is about 45 minutes each way.

While we were in Boston last week we took the T to visit "the village" and were really impressed. It was a really easy ride and we were able to stay on the same rail line the entire way. We also had Addison with us and had no problem getting in and out of the station with the stroller.

The apartments are gorgeous and the management said we could paint accent walls if we want to. That would be a huge bonus since we could really make the apartment feel like home right away. I was able to get in touch with someone who currently lives there (through Facebook) and get the inside scoop. She is a stay at home mom of a little girl and said Oak Grove Village is AWESOME. There are some really great parks in the area and the local mom's group is very involved. The location sounds perfect since I will have easy access to the T, but will still have my car to get around.

It looks like this Oak Grove Village might just be the apartment of our dreams! We are busy making plans for an easy way to convert the living room into a guest room. Anyone have any ideas?

Friday, April 29, 2011

Boston. America’s Walking City. Bean Town. The City on a Hill. Whatever you wanna call it…we are going. We are super excited about this new step in our lives (but a bit freaked out about all of the unknowns)! Josh has a great opportunity to join Digital Lumens - a cleantech start up company that offers intelligent lighting systems. The people are great, the location is fantastic, and the opportunity seems to be a perfect fit for Josh and his career.

It is going to be quite an adventure for us to move from our three-bedroom single-family home in suburbia to a smaller two-bedroom apartment right off the subway. Did I mention we are taking Addison? We can’t wait to have her christen Boston with all her spit up.

So I created this blog to keep track of all the many shenanigans we get ourselves into. I have always thought blogs were a fun way to connect with the people and things we love. I have also always wanted to use the word “shenanigans” in a real sentence (since seeing the movie Juno) so I can already tell this experience is going to be a success.

About me

Michelle

I’m Michelle. I like school – always have. So I grew up and became a teacher and college professor (of History). I am sure I will go back to school one day, but right now I am busy teaching my beautiful daughter how to be a baby. I love theater and being dramatic. My husband is the man of my dreams and I am so grateful to be learning about life while next to him.